My current reading habit

Image via Wikipedia

Interestingly, the last two days i have found i got bored with the internet and my computer and have ended up resorting to reading an actual printed book for once!

I’m currently trying to finish The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, after reading it on and off for about 2 months! It’s actually getting better now, i was struggling to keep going with it, but yesterday i picked it up and finally got hooked and havent put it down since!

It’s also nice to find i can still sink into the reading mentality, where i tune out everything going on around me and my sole ambition in life is to finish reading the book! For someone who multi-tasks all the time, its quite refreshing to just do one thing!

I just don’t think i could abandon paper printed books totally, i love books too much! They don’t require as much maintenance as, say, a Kindle, which still needs power of some kind! A paper book will just sit nicely on a shelf, or be used as a door-wedge! Or, in my case, the top of my latest read is where my mobile phone lives because then it doesn’t vibrate so loudly! Some people may say, OMG you can’t use a book as a door-wedge, its sacrilege! Well, you can say that, but are you really going to use your Kindle as a door-wedge? No, thought not!

Oh dear, here’s me banging on about my love of paper books again!

I felt i should mention paper books though, because lately i’ve been all technical, checking out the Ipad and its accessories, and looking at alternative tablet computers! Finding myself drooling over them now! I really want one, but my current finances suggest i will have to wait a few months! At least by then i will have decided which to actually buy!

So, now i will get back to my book, and i will be back as soon as i finish it to write my review of it!

I want an Ipad! (or: Other tablets are available)

Lately i’ve found myself wanting one of the tablet devices available on the market at the moment. I’ve physically held an Ipad twice, and i have to admit it is fairly cool!

I was originally put off touchscreen after having bought a touchscreen phone last summer and it dying on me so many times over the weekend i had it, that i sent it back and bought myself the QWERTY keypad version of that same phone model, fed up with the technical hitches i had with the touchscreen. Maybe it was just a faulty phone, but i was so excited about owning a touchscreen phone that it ruined it for me!

Of course, with one of these special touchscreen tablet devices, maybe i will find some satisfaction in the touchscreen, something i was unable to enjoy before. However, i am stuck with the problem of which tablet to choose from, because although we only ever hear about the Ipad (let’s face it, Apple is the big rich guy of technology and therefore has more means of promoting its products), there are plenty of other devices out there on the market.

(I’m not going to describe the Ipad, i think it has enough airtime as it is! It would be boring to harp on and on about it when most people know about it anyway! and for my earlier posting on the Ipad see Ipads in Society)

The list of Tablet Devices which i found on the market:

1) Samsung Galaxy Tab

• 7 inch touchscreen
• Two cameras (3.2 megapixels and 1.9 megapixels)
• runs Android 2.2
• Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
• Adobe Flash support
• Weighs 380g
• Looks slick and smart, looks rather like a bigger version of their Samsung Genio Touch phone… same Samsung style, which is fairly attractive.
• This one seems to be a serious contender, and is the one which i would choose to buy if i don’t go for an Ipad!

For more information see Samsung Galaxy Tab @ Samsung.com

2) Blackberry Playbook Tablet

• 7 inch touchscreen
• front and rear mounted cameras (3-megapixel and 5-megapixel)
• runs RIM’s  QNX OS
• Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
• Another smart and sleek device! Blackberry’s phones are hugely popular, so I think maybe that could sway many people to buy it.
• Doesn’t seem to be available yet, but seems to be due to be released at some point within 2011

For more information see Blackberry Playbook Tablet @ Blackberry.com

3) Dell Streak

• 5 inch touchscreen
• 5.0M Rear-Facing Auto-Focus Camera + VGA Front-Facing Camera
• runs Android 1.6 or 2.2
• Dimensions - 6 x 3.1 x 0.4 inches
• It seems to be a hybrid, basically a mix of smartphone and tablet
• Smaller than other tablets available, seems more like the size of an IPhone…  but a bit bigger – it works as a mobile phone, but is a bit on the big side!
• Literally just seems like a supped up touchscreen smartphone, isn’t as cumbersome as most tablet devices. It is being marketed as being the pocket tablet which actually will fit in your pocket, so maybe that will benefit those who want a tablet but not a big clunky thing like the Ipad!

For more information see Dell Streak @ Dell.com

4) Advent Vega tablet

• 10.1 inch touchscreen
• runs Android 2.2
• Wi-fi
• Weighs 700g-750g
• Dimensions - 13.6 x 275 x 178mm
• Looks like it has a fairly simple system for a tablet
• Looks fairly attractive and simply designed

Advent Vega @Adventcomputers.co.uk

So there you go, a selection of alternatives to the Ipad, some of which are probably better than others, but i can’t be too selective over which is best because i have never tried any of the above!

With any luck, in a few months i’ll be able to afford to buy one of these, but for now i can just dream!

Thanks for reading!